Syruper



A. R. THOMPSON.

SYRUPER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I6. 1919.

5 Patented 0011. 5,

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' *2 Z Z zz Ll WITNESS IN V EN TOR @641 f, x1 1 Z0 Wa /45w. BY @564 WATTORNEYS A. R. THOMPSON.

SYRUPER.

APPLICATION EILED DEC. 16, 1919.

1,355,015. Patemed 0%. 5,1920.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

WITNESS IN VEN TOR A TTORNE YS umrso STATES PATENT pm.

ALBERT R. THOMPSON, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG-NOR TO ANDERSON-BARN-GROVER MFG. CO., OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

SYBUPER.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented 0013.15, 1920.

Application filed December 16, 1919. Serial No. 345,431.

To all whom it may concern. 4

Be it known that I, ALBERT R. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements insyrupers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of syrupers as used in the canningart, and more parvolumetric quantity of sy up introduced into ticularlyto that type known in the art as displacement syrupers, in which adisplacement body is inserted into the upper portion of the can duringthe filling operation, so

.that the resultant quantity of liquid does pot {ill the can above acertain predetermined eve Machines of this class are used in the canningart for filling cans with syrup, the solid portion of the contents, asfor example fruit, having been previously placed in the can. To avoidwaste it is necessary that the can be not filled to the top, because,due to the expansion of the contents in the cooking operation, and tothe jarring and j olting incident to moving the can about, aconsiderable portion of the syrup would be lost. The solid content ofthe can, however, extends to or even beyond the top; and when such solidcontent is fruit, particularly peaches or pears, any attempt to force itdown by the entry of a displacing body results in injury whichmaterially lessens the value of the product.

One of the objects of my invention, therevide, in a machine of the classdescribed, means forinsuring the proper cooperation of the can and thefilling valve to avoid injury to the can itself." The displacement body,in order to be effective, must have a diameter only slightly less thanthat of the interiorof the can, and in order to insure the proper entryof said displacement body into the can, to avoid mutilating the wallsthereof, I providemeans for encircling and truing the can bodyimmediately prior to the insertion of the displacement body thereinto.

These and other objects, which will be apparent in the followingspecification, are achieved in my resent invention in a continuouslyoperating machine adapted to receive,'fill and discharge an endlesssuccession of cans, and to perform its functions at a high rate of speedand with the least possible spilling and waste.

With these general facts in View, I shall now fully describe myinvention with reference to the accompanying drawings,

fore, is to provide a syruper in which the\ the bed an Cam rack.

a can is limited to the proper amount by means of a displacement bodypositioned within the can during the filling operation, saiddisplacement body being so formed that it will not crush or injure thesolid contents of the can. The particular filling valve, with which isincorporated the displacement body, and which I' have herewithillustrated, and shall hereinafter describe indetail, in connection withthe present invention, is the filling valve for syrupers for whichUnited States Letters Patent No. 1288749, dated December 24, 1918, weregranted upon my application, and therefore forms no part of the presentinvention except in so far as a filling valve of this general type isnecessary in the combination to complete an operative machine.

A second obi ect of mv invention is to pro- Fig. 6 is a vertical centralsection, en-j larged, of one of the filling valves.

Fig. 7 is a part sectional side elevation, enlarged, of the float andsyrup feed valve.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a bed,approximatelycircular in form, and horizontal in position, which is supported uponlegs 2. The bed .1 supportsa central vertical column 3, Fig. 3, in whichis journaled a vertical hollow shaft 4. This vertical shaft carries, andhas se- A drive shaft 8, Fig. .1, is rotatably carried in a suitablebearing 8', Figs. 1 and 2, supported by one of the legs 2, and has fixedupon its inner end a bevel pinion 9, Figs. 1 and 3, adapted to mesh withthe bevel gear 6 of the turret shaft. A driving pulley 10, Fig. 1, isrotatably mounted on the outer end of the drive shaft 8, to which it maybe connected in driving relation When desired,

' 3, operating within a groove in the feed table 14, carries a series ofspaced drag flights 18 adapted to engage and advance the cans. Said feedchain runs over sprockets 19 and 20, the latter being the drivingsprocket and being rotatably mounted upon a fixed vertical spindle 21,Figs. 1 and 3, suitably carried in supporting brackets 22. Said sprocket20 is driven by means of a gear 23, Figs. 1, 3 and 4, fixed thereto,which meshes with and is driven by a gear ring 24 secured to the underside of the turret 5.

The cans, as advanced by the feed chain 17, are guided off the feedtable 14 by a pairof stationary spaced guide rails 25, Figs. 2, 3 and 4,and onto the turret 5. Said turret carries'a series of equally spacedcan holders 26, Figs/1, 2, 3 and 4, disposed about itsperipheral regioneach adapted to receive and support, a can, and each formed With abottom guide flange 27 on one side and semi-circular rear brackets 28,Figs, 1, 3 and 4, into which the body of the can fits, and which locatessaid can in its proper position upon the holder.

Each of said can holders is mounted upon the upper end of a vertical rod29, slidably carried in a guide 30 depending from the turret 5. A camfollowing roller 31 is mounted on a pin 32 secured to each verticalsliding rod 29 and projecting through a slot 33 in the guide 30 thereof,and said rollers follow a cam track 34 formed upon the periphery of thebed 1, the contour of said track being so formed as to lift the canholder=26, with the can thereon, into operative relation with thefilling valve, as hereinafter described.

A peripherally notched or pocketed shaping or truing wheel 35, Figs. 1,2, 3 and 4, is carried on a sleeve'36 rotatably mounted on a rod 36'adjacent the turret 5, and is rotated by a gear 37, Fig. 4, fixed tosaid sleeve 36, said gear being driven by the feed chain driving gear 23through idler pinions '38. .This truing wheel is so positioned andtimed, relative to the turret 5,

that its semi-circular notches or pockets 35 cooperate with thesuccessive can holders 26, or more properly with the rear brackets 28thereof'to form a substantially circular,

clamp for embracing and truing the can body into circular shape as at 16in Fig. 4, preparatory to the positioning thereof in operative relationbeneath the filling valve.

The syrup tank or reservoir 7 carries a series of filling valvesdepending from its bottom, one positioned in vertical a-linement witheach can holder 26'. One of said filling valves, which is typical ofall, is illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 of the drawings. A tubularsupporting member 39 is secured to the bottom 7' of the syrup reservoir,and registers with an aperture 40 therein. Surrounding said tubular.sup-

- port is a sliding sleeve 41, and the joint between said support andsaid sleeve is made tight by a gasket ring 42, of resilient material,positioned in a seat 43.

The sleeve 41 is flanged at its bottom and carries an annular valvegasket 44, preferably formed of some suitable resilient material. Saidvalve gasket normally rests upon a valve seat 45 which comprises theperipheral region of a conical member 46 supported by web 47 within thetubular member 39, and said conical member carries a vertically disposedtube 48, Figs. 3 and 6, extendlng upwardly through the syrup reservoir 7and terminating at a point above the level of the liquid therein.

The flow of syrup, which passes down through the aperture 40, Fig. 6,and the space between the conical member 46 and the tubular support 39,is cut off by the contact of the valve gasket 44 with the seat '45, andthe valve sleeve 41 is normally retained in this position by springs 49disposed about said sleeve, as shown in Figs. 1-, 3 and 6.

The valve gasket 44 is also adapted to seat u on the top flange of thebody of a can 16*, 1g. 6, and to be pressed upwardly, off its seat 45,by the upward movement of the can therebys permitting syrup to flowthrough the valve and into the can. The conical member 46 extends for aslight distance into the top of the can, and carries within it anadjustable second conical member 50, fixed upon the lower end of avertical tube 51 positioned within the tube 48, and verticallyadjustable within said tube 48 by means of a nut 52, Fig. 3, whichscrews upon the inner tube 51 andrests upon a suitablecollar 48' securedto the upper end of the outer tube 48. The inner tube 51 is alsoprovided at its upper end with a return bend fitting 53, to protect itsmouth against the entry of dust and foreign matter.

The inner adjustable conical member 50,

supporting member 50 by an annular space 56, which communicates withthe" inner tube 51 and forms a vent for the escape of air from the can16 during the inflow of syrup. This inverted cup-shaped member 54 formsa pocket for entrapped air, when the level of the syrup in the can risesto its edge, into which the solid contents of the can may project, andby this means a displacement body is'provided, in the upper portion ofthe can, without crowding down and injuring the solid contents thereof.

When the can-body 16 is again lowered, the valve gasket 4A is allowed toreturnto its seat, cutting off the flow of syrup. lFurther downwardmovement of the can then draws it away from the displacement portion or"the valve mechanism, so that said can leaves the sphere of action of thevalve mechanism with a liquid content whose level is the desireddistance belowthe can-rim. By adjusting the inner conical member 50downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6, the volume of thedisplacement body is increased, and the resultant final syrup-level islowered, the limit of such adjustment being the width of theinter-engaging flanges 57 and 58' of the outer and inner cones 46 and 50respectively.

The cam track 34 is so formed as to elevate each successive can holder26 at that point 4 damaging the edge or flange of the can, and

that said fiangewill make a tight seat, to

prevent wasteful leakage of syrup, with the valve gasket at, Fig. 6.

The upward movement of the can holder with the can thereon continuesuntil the syrup valve is opened,as described above, and the can is heldin this filling position for a sufficient length of time to enable it tobe filled to the bottom of the displacement body. When the syrup risesto this point, its flow is almost stopped by the restricted area of theair vent 56, into which any excess syrup must pass, so that the exactmoment of closing of the valve is not a matter of great importance.

By the time, however, that the can has been filled to the requiredpoint, the travel of the turret 5 has carried said can to a positionshown approximately at 16 in-Fig. 3. At this point the cam roller 31enters upon the depressed portion of the cam track 3%, which, as shownin Fig. 5, is arrived at in two successive stages 59 and 60, separatedby a horizontal portion 61. The first stage 59 of said depression causesthe can to be and a fiat valve gasket, does not readily loweredsufficiently to close the valve but still maintaining a' tight jointbetween the flange of said can and the valve gasket. The horizontalstage 61 enables said can to reinain in such position long enought toper mit the syrup to drain out of the air vent 56, Fig. 6, of the valve,and 0E the displace ment body and valve gasket, so that this relativelysmall amount ofsyrup is caught by the can and is not wasted. The finastage 60, Fig. 5, lowers the can holder 26, Fig. 3, to its seat on theturret 5, in which position the can is entirely free of the valve mechanism. A. guide 62, Fig. 5, is spaced above the initial stage 59 or thecam track depres sion, to make sure that the cam roller shall followsaid depressionpromptly.

When the can holder 26 reachesthe tion indicated by 26 Fig. 4-, the canshown, is removed by a stationary gui o finger 63, and caused to slideoff the turr 5 and onto a rotating discharge wheel i Figs. 1, 2 and 5,from which it may be moved by any vmeans, not shown. Said dischargewheel ,6 lis suitably mounted in scbracket 65, Fig.1, and is driven by66, Figs. 1 and 1 which meshes with the tun ret gear 24.

Syrup is introduced into the reservoir 7 through a pipe 67, supported bya bracket 67, fitted on top of the rod 36, Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and thelevel of the syrup se reservoir is maintained constant by means a float68, Figs. 2, 3 and 7, and a float valve, shown in detail in Fig. '3'.The heat which is preferably formed of hollow metal, is pivotallysecured to a fixed bracket 69 a fulcrum pin 70. A valve gasket 7"carried in a flanged valve member 72, w in turn is secured to the upperside oi the i float 68 by a ball and socket connection 76, by means ofwhich said valve member is per-- mitted to have slight universalmovemeupon said float, the retaining screw 73 oeing loosely fittedthrough. said valve mem- 1,, her 72 to permit such movement. Said valvemember is positioned beneath the open end oi the feed pipe 67, and thevalve gasket 71 is pressed against said open end of the feed pipe by therising of the float 68, there is. by cutting ofi the supply of syrup.The open end of the feed lpe is faced to form a smooth valve seat. thisconstruction, by providing a tree opening for the feed pipe comeinoperative through clogging of the valve opening with particles ofcrystallized sugar, and by mounting, the valve directly on a large floatprovides sufiicient power close the valve tightly under all ordinaconditions. A guard 68, carried by the r 68, is provided around thevalve to revent splashing.

he hollow turret shaft 4, Fig. 3, provides a drain or draw-oh for thesyrup reservoir 7, as before stated. The lower end of said shaft 4extends into an elbow fitting 74:

through a packed joint 75 which permits said shaft to rotate Within saidfitting. The fitting 74 is braced to one of the legs 2 by a rod or deadend pipe 76, Figs. 1 and 8,

to provide stiffness, and a pipe 77., having a valve 78, Fig. 1, at itsend, is connected with said fitting and led to a conveniently reachedposition.

I claim 1. In a syruper, the combination of a rotatable turret having anannular series of" open sided rigid holders to receive and closely fit acircumferential section of the exterior of cans to be filled; asyrup-supply tank rotating with said turret and having an annular seriesof filling valves adapted to engage the cans, each valve being providedtheir trued cans tooperatively engage their respective filling valves,and accurately receive the displacement members of said valves.

2. In a syruper, the combination of a rotatable turret having an annularseries of vertically movable holders to receive cans to be filled; anoverlying syrup-supply tank associated androtating with said turret; aseries of filling valves carried by the tank, corresponding tothe canholders of the turret; means operatable by the elevation of the cans toopen the filling valves and make a tight joint therewith; and acam-track for raising the holders and cans to operate the valves, saidtrack having a two-stage drop with an intervening horizontal portionadapted to hold the cans in relation to the valves, after the fillingoperation is complete and during the drip, and then to lower said cansaway from the valves.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

A ALBERT R. THOMPSON Witnesses:

WM. F. BOOTH, D. B. RIoHARn

